I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

[Rastan78]

I'm gonna guess the character's name is Pit and they meant to to be Tinker Pit as in Peter Pan's Tinker Bell. Kind of like how we ended up with wonderful character names like "Pielle" in Breakers.

You can take Pit out of the tinkle, but you can't take the tinkle out of Pit.

[Sima Tuna]

"My name's Pit, and your ass ain't talking your way out of this."

[BIL]

You merely adopted the tinkle! I was born in it, moulded by it!

Baraduke a violent delight as ever. I'm always impressed by the nippy player speed and beefy shot; pure blazing feelgood, especially paired with the anti-grav movement and fierce enemy fire. I wonder if this is one of the earlier examples of Fast-Fall mechanics? Especially cool how there's animation and SFX just for the action; true craftsmanship, like the audible footfalls while running.

The gun recoil is another coolly functional touch; useful for creating distance while training fire on a target, and a tactical concern when rushing down targets with enemies hot on your heels; you're a lot slower battling against the recoil, while in the air, encouraging controlled bursts. This creates a further tactical wrinkle; you suffer no such resistance while running along the ground, making a deft flak-misdirecting hop followed by a guns-blazing banzai charge attractive.

While it's easy to picture this game with the multi-directional fire and strafing of later affairs ala Burai Fighter, the lightning-quick movement and storming firepower banish any hint of drudge - especially paired with the simple advent calendar pleasure of its bitesized, loot-crazed stages. Pacman From Hell is a real star, no matter how often you've seen the bastard you'll instinctively want to create distance and mow him down with utter prejudice. Authentic Space Horror / Disgust Reaction



NOW THATS HARDCORE Poor bugger carked it on floor 9 ;-;7 Helluva Game Over jingle + HS table theme, quality Jaws riff.

Ordyne, I never give enough time to. Too in love with gunmetal and scorched earth. Instantly likeable hori, regardless, again sporting generous handling. Very attractive game, too - even not being the biggest cute 'em up fan, it's undeniably characterful. Love the "yikes!" animation when boosting forward.

[StrzxgvNuvWvfld]

All my ACA titles are on Switch and I've never noticed any issues. There may be a half-frame or whatever of additional lag, I dunno. But that's the worst possible case scenario.

That's a bit of an exageration, they aren't PCB accurate or anything, you're looking at a few frames, but I agree it's low enough that it doesn't interfere with gameplay, at least for me.

Aren't they, though? A few means 3, right? If an arcade game has 3 frames of input delay native, then you think the ACA port has 6 frames? I don't think it does. I tried to find some data to prove one way or another and couldn't. There just aren't enough people lag testing these games and posting up hard numbers. I think I've seen exactly one ACA title lag tested by Mark MSX and it was 5 frames (Blazing Star.) But I have no idea what the native Neo-Geo arcade (or home version) input delay was. IF the input delay on Blazing Star PCB is 2 frames then 2 to 5 would be a three-frame jump, but that's only one example. We can't use one game to represent the hundreds Hamster release.

viewtopic.php?t=26394

Blazing Star is listed here on Mame as running at 3 frames. 3 frames to 5 frames is a 2-frame difference. Factor out the one frame of Switch input delay which damn near no porting team can eliminate (except Live Wire, and then only sometimes) and you're left with... 1 additional frame on ACA.

But Mame is an emulator that adds lag of its own, you can't use that as a starting point. I mean "few" as in a small number, not specifically 3. You said half a frame above as a worst possible scenario, you've now changed that to 2 frames which I think is more reasonable (i'd guess 2-3 frames, but you're right there's very little concrete testing online, so this is largely anecdotal)

[Sima Tuna]

But Mame is an emulator that adds lag of its own, you can't use that as a starting point.

So what's the actual default number then? That's kinda my point. I can't find numbers for any of this shit, except to say that the ACA Hamster stuff is definitely not Shitty Connection levels of lag, so it's going to be less than 6. Basically no game, even on PCB runs at 1 frame of lag. So we're saying 2-3 frames of lag is the PCB, and then maybe 5 frames could be Hamster ACA? But these are all just guesses. It's quite likely there are Hamster games with 4 frames of lag on Switch, and there may even be a 3 framer on there. We don't know because nobody is testing them. And we will probably never know.

You're saying (if I'm understanding you) that ACA games feel laggier than on PCB, to you. I'm assuming you've played at least some of these games both on Switch and on PCB. And I'm saying I don't notice any/much lag on Hamster ACA games on my Switch, and have never heard anyone mention their games as being laggy. They don't feel laggy to me. But it's pointless either way, whether to say the games feel laggy or don't feel laggy, since nobody can know anything based on a feeling. We need...

More Than A Feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4QK8RxCAwo

We don't have more, however. Blazing Star was literally the only game I could find input delay numbers for to compare. And that using a 2009 forum post about whatever version of Mame was running the games then. And Mark's setup for measuring shmup lag, which is probably different from whatever setup was used to measure the mame lag in 2009.

I wish some fucker with a lag testing setup would go through their entire Switch library of arcade ports and just post all the numbers. Not only shmups, but everything. With so little data, nothing can be known. I don't even care if they want to paywall the results behind a $5 dono.

[BIL]

The Lord of King aka Astyanax is a useful benchmark, I've found. Gave it a pre-release spin in ShmupMAME and official MAME's respective newest versions; instantly noticed it felt laggy (was playing a ton of Rygar, VS Castlevania, and Saigo no Nindou around then; razor-sharp responders all). Tested with MAME's usual pause+frame advance method, Lordy registered at something like 6f walk startup, 7f attack startup; it's far from unplayable (actually pretty easy by AC standards), but I couldn't help noticing, and always need a few minutes to adjust. The ACA release, on a low-latency gaming monitor, feels exactly like MAME's, making me think it's legitimately just how the board is.

Being PS4-only atm, the only other ACA titles I've experienced noticeable lag in are Namco's late 80s/early 90s stuff like Dangerous Seed, likewise seemingly that way on legit hardware (see Haze's comment here). Again, it's far from game-ruining; just noticeable when the majority of first-rate Japanese action games tend to respond instantaneously (from human perspective).

There's also Sunset Riders' crouch command, which unlike every other movement input, is delayed by a couple frames. Actually, if you feather the [down] input, your character will never crouch at all; it demands several frames of unbroken input for the command to go through. Happily, the Slide input (down+jump) comes out lightning-quick. Again, this behaviour persists across MAME, ACA, and the board itself.

Strictly from layman's perspective, with ACA and ShotTriggers, I'm happy enough believing that if I can notice lag, it's almost certainly that way on the board too.

We need...

More Than A Feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4QK8RxCAwo

Sumez giving ACA Bubble Bobble his blessing was good enough for me, that's practically a papal edict.

[Udderdude]

While it's easy to picture this game with the multi-directional fire and strafing of later affairs ala Burai Fighter, the lightning-quick movement and storming firepower banish any hint of drudge - especially paired with the simple advent calendar pleasure of its bitesized, loot-crazed stages.

Yeah, it's pretty clear the enemies and stages are designed around single direction fire .. a lot of long corridors and not much vertical space.

Pacman From Hell is a real star, no matter how often you've seen the bastard you'll instinctively want to create distance and mow him down with utter prejudice. Authentic Space Horror / Disgust Reaction

I hate that damn bastard. lol

There's also Sunset Riders' crouch command, which unlike every other movement input, is delayed by a couple frames. Actually, if you feather the [down] input, your character will never crouch at all; it demands several frames of unbroken input for the command to go through. Happily, the Slide input (down+jump) comes out lightning-quick. Again, this behaviour persists across MAME, ACA, and the board itself.

That's sually a good sign they intentionally did it like that to prevent accidental inputs.

[BIL]

Super cool how the capsule opening is delayed so you can rush straight through, safely pivoting to gun down any lurking fiends... but at the same time, being too safely distant can complicate the rescue of Scurred Homies, who tend to dart off, unlike their happier counterparts. Speaking of them... that must be the most sadistic boss timer ever, having the poor bastards kamikaze themselves on the hulking monstrosity as the battle wears on. Heartbreaking death SFX, I don't feel guilty tearing into bosses with 30hz anymore. Remember! THEY UR FRIENDO

[Klatrymadon]

Does anyone know how the difficulty works in Baraduke? I'm finding some runs are full of snipers and relentless 3-bullet spreads from the word go, while others are a lot more sedate. Is there rank at play, or is it maybe something to do with the number of credits played since booting up?*

Really getting into the caravan mode on this. Doing well is heavily dependent on getting the genocide score bonus (some friend I am), and even more dependent on blind luck, but it's really compelling and addictive in a roguelike kind of way - every run is different from the last, and it always feels like anything could happen.

*Actually, this doesn't seem likely, since the caravan and high score modes boot up anew each time you play. I think.

[BIL]

Friendship is admittedly a two-way street. Didn't know there even was a genocide bonus - now that's authentic space horror for you!

STRANGE CIVILISATIONS / VAPORISED ♫

*Actually, this doesn't seem likely, since the caravan and high score modes boot up anew each time you play. I think.

Yeah, IIRC, Hamster always set a baked-in savestate for both Hi Score and Caravan modes; I guess it's to ensure everyone gets the same starting RNG, for games where leaving the attract mode running, etc can alter things (only Garegga and Batrider come to mind, but I bet there's others).

By Sniper, do you mean the blue spaceman bastards of the same name? (I wish the manual included all the enemy names, especially with golden age Namco always having such characterful baddies; Strategywiki proves a handy friend once again!) I've definitely noticed they're ad-hoc in the second set of stages (currently maxing out at the third). I almost wonder if it's pure RNG, like the capsules' contents. Then again I'm a total noob here, so I'll report back after I'm a bit less green.

Really loving this, I gotta say. I always had a fondness for it, back in the PS2 days when I'd just discovered it via Namco Museum. Being a lot more experienced with STG/action games, its design nous really stands out. Genpei Toumaden was another Museum alum I fondly revisited via ACA, and though I love its mad world, it's undeniably a tangled beast to wrest under control. Similarly, Dragon Buster offers some incredibly fast-paced dungeon storming, but you're gonna have to get those four-way controls down before you can well and truly bust.

By contrast, this is cutting-edge crisp and immediate; the sensibly lenient hitboxes were an especially welcome surprise. I dislike overly-literal "sprite outline" hitboxes, in general - a little "give" doesn't just free up breathing room; it's also more kinesthetically inviting and thrilling, encouraging aggressive players to dance with death at pixel/frame precision. Tecno Soft's MD canon, while I adore 'em, always irk a tiny bit with their juxtaposition of rollicking feelgood blasting and ultra-strict collision; meanwhlle, the supposedly implacable Rayforce and Metal Black, though categorically sterner STGs, nail a sweet spot of leeway and hard accountability.

IN A TIGHT SQUEEZE.mp3

Spoiler

Also has some sharp use of my favourite run/gun accoutrement, free enemy overlap (with Snipers). Feels very Ninja Spirit-esque maneuvering into overlap range to take 'em out.

VERTICAL SUPERIORITY ACHIEVE

Spoiler

Wider balance likewise exemplifies the arcade triad of generosity, stricture, and tension, in fiendishly pacey bitesized tactical seek/destroy (with just the right dash of "OHSHI - FRIENDLY FRIENDLY CEASE FIRE" complication ).

The emphasis on macro sweeps to both attack and evade, and the integral role of terrain, almost remind me of a horizontal Gun.Smoke; as there, while you're a quick mover, pure twitch is decidedly inferior to deft slicing movement.

OLD WEST KILLIN'

Spoiler

Realised in this evening's credits, you can force those shield bastards to expose themselves by givin' em a taste of the ol' HEATED BARREL A snap with a little finesse, and even if you get counter-hit, sometimes 1HP is a good trade

HOW U LIEK ME NAO

Spoiler

And holy smokes - so it seems capsules won't open until you've moved aside? I'd been hustling past, in case That Bitch PacMan was lurking. Excellent to know! Makes Floor 15's tight quarters a lot less nerve-wracking.

I decide when you come out, you lousy little PAC-PUSSYCLAAT

Spoiler

Customarily lovely work from Namco and Hamster alike, and exactly why I'm so happy to see these old Museum favourites get definitive freshenings-up for the post-CRT age. Thank god it's not just M2 who treat these treasures with the respect they deserve!

I gotta repost that cracking Genpei promo you linked back at its ACA release.

Can't let the Genpei news pass without posting what is hands-down the best piece of videogame promotional material ever produced. It's also the most black metal, being similar aesthetically and conceptually to the video for Blashyrkh: a mad lad runs through his native countryside pulling faces.

Did you think I would not return to fulfill their vengeance?

Spoiler

Reminds me of the old live-action Miss Tiggywinkle and Peter Rabbit

[hamfighterx]

Top quality Baraduke content in the year 2022, who'd have thunk it? I was just about to settle in and play other games, but ughhhh now I can't resist going for a few rounds of space horror first

I also wasn't quite aware of the genocide bonus, but now I understand. HG101 mentioned it:

As another typical facet of 80s games, it contains several esoteric scoring bonuses: one involves the massacre of twenty Paccets from the beginning of the game, which only makes the adventure even more grueling as you can’t get more than two shields this way.

And to highlight the page for those who didn't catch it from BIL's links, Strategywiki has some really detailed level by level tips. Good stuff.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Gunnail is so dope. This has got to be one of the best giant hit box shooters of all time.

[Marc]

Yeah, the next game is not, in fact, the already released Elevator Action, but it is a Taito game.

It's Metal Black. Dropping on Switch and PS4 on the 17th. Namco's Galaxian is also on the way.

Hmm, my drunken Egret Mini purchase is looking sillier with every month that passes.

[jehu]

Metal Black is now out on the JPN store.

Spoiler

Get ready to end Apartheid, pilots. Shoot to kill.

[dojo_b]

LOL, official records hold that after recovering from the traumas of space warfare, Baraduke's Masuyo "Kissy" Tobi married, then separated from Taizo "Dig Dug" Hori---but not before becoming mother to Susumu "Mr. Driller" Hori.

https://mrdriller.fandom.com/wiki/Masuyo_Tobi

I wonder how she feels as her son builds a career dicking around with colored blocks, often in a literal amusement park. Hope Susumu knows his adventures' relatively tame character was paid for in blood up there in the merciless void.

[BIL]

Metal Black is now out on the JPN store.

Spoiler

Get ready to end Apartheid, pilots. Shoot to kill.

Ohooo, nice Home early hoping it'd be up (that's what she said!). Time to get BLACKEDY-BLACK-A-BLACK-BLACK Y'ALL (that's what she said!)

LOL, official records hold that after recovering from the traumas of space warfare, Baraduke's Masuyo "Kissy" Tobi married, then separated from Taizo "Dig Dug" Hori---but not before becoming mother to Susumu "Mr. Driller" Hori.

https://mrdriller.fandom.com/wiki/Masuyo_Tobi

I wonder how she feels as her son builds a career dicking around with colored blocks. Hope Susumu knows his adventures' relatively tame character was paid for in blood up there in the merciless void.

I know I guess there's a common sense of doom to all three's games - DD's brutal rockfalls and body-exploding harpoon carnage, MD's primally harrowing oxygen gauge - but mom was definitely the stone-cold killer of that family unit. I bet she left Taizo for Bryan Fury or some other lunatic more her speed!

----

Ah man. Anyone else always find themselves unconsciously compelled to do this during the intro sequence? Tan-tan / Tan-tan / Tan-tan-taaan ♫ Let it boot up at normal for the very first credit ofc - OMG TEH GRAFX

Chucked in a quick HS mode credit, things going great until I tried no-bombing the ST2 fish fuck, after like five years since last contact. Got my shit ruined. Tried limping on to the second bonus stage but carked it in st3's turret tunnel. Surprised at how instantly the handling came back to me - MB's sword/shield/shot is truly distinctive, a warm fuzzy coat of searing plasma death for your intrepid Space Sub. Feel like I could whack out a quick 1CC before the evening's too far gone.

ACA ver seems like splendid work as per Hamster's usual. How lovely to get definitive home versions of both Gun Frontiers in rapid succession! What a wonderful strange trip it's been, finally understanding the meaning of Project GF2. For all their stark diversions, that Senba sensibility leaps off the screen now.

[SavagePencil]

A bit OT, but can anyone explain what the issue with the Western-released Taito Legends version of Metal Black was? The Xbox was my first exposure to the title and when I fell in love with it, but I quickly moved onto the Saturn. What exactly was "wrong" with that port?

[BIL]

The bomb refocus mechanic doesn't work in TL2. Basically, when you're at MAX power and hit [bomb], you're meant to have the option of condensing the fullscreen blast into a beam, by continuing to hold the button. This is extremely useful, as sometimes you'll want the longer-lived, screen sweeping beam, as opposed to the briefer fullscreen nuke. (sometimes you'll want the opposite, as you cannot begin restoring your shot power until the beam/bomb has run its course; the nuke drains quicker, useful when you're in a hurry to rebuild shot power)

On TL2, this functionality is missing (I guess due to something with how they coded inputs?), so you're limited to just the big bang. It's not what I'd call a fatal flaw, per se... but definitely a major one that you'd need to adapt around, if used to AC.

VING's Saturn version, and ofc ACA, work identically to the PCB.

[SavagePencil]

Thank you for that (and thanks for the excellent strategy!). That makes more sense and saves me from hauling out the Xbox. I'm excited for this to finally roll out to the US store so that I can get back into it!

[BIL]

You're most welcome, and thanks! The ACA release is a perfect impetus for me to finally spruce that guide up a bit, particularly with T4NE and PricklyAngler's insights in the years since. Gonna get it looking nice like my Gun.Smoke and Ninja Spirit ones.

[Udderdude]

So apparently if you let this boss timeout in Metal Black, something interesting happens .. https://twitter.com/To_m_m_y_/status/15 ... 5640664066

I swear, just when I think I've seen all the weird shit in Taito's arcade games, something like this appears. lol

[BIL]

Jesus, how've I never seen that?! (I guess because when Omega Zone shows up, you're looking to either milk him or kill him ) That cacophony of BGM, explosions and shredding backgrounds is perhaps the most 2001 brain-melting thing in a game chock-full of crazy shit.

[Jonpachi]

Absolutely made my morning! What a fantastic easter egg. Must have been the work on a pair of ninja designers/artists?

[BIL]

The cat always appears, but usually the game shifts through different backgrounds and BGMs as you damage the boss (with an explosion for every new phase) - timing him out at the first phase as shown will cause the game to just shred through everything at blitzkrieg pace, a real joyous noise unto the Lord.

Playing Metal Black sans autofire? Always remember, kids:

[Udderdude]

Good 'ol ceiling cat. Watching you FIRE YOUR LAZOR.

[BIL]

As for me, discovered the sinful joys of 30hz fappin Bagged a quick n' dirty ALL @ 450k or so. Holy cow, autofire slices through them varmints but good. MB is not a game where manual fire confers a serious disadvantage, but I enjoy the AF's heightened pointblank aggression, and will stick with it going forward. Super-comfy having four buttons mapped across frequencies (0/15/20/30hz).

Five deaths, not that they ever matter in MB... but three of them were in stages 2 and 4, all of them utter boners st2 a rocket tapped muh butt, been a while since I shaved 'em close; st4 the little blue dudes who drop in from above tapped muh butt TWO TIME Was still recalibrating to their movement.

Milked Daio & Gishiin (st3)'s balls a bit, though nothing too hawt, ain't seen 'em in five years. Didn't dare try milking BIG METAL DIKK Amazo (st4), couldn't even remember the first lap was a freebie. No-missed st5 and st6 with a couple close calls, happy about that. Nearly game overed on Omega Zone (st6), two deaths in quick SUCCession while doing a little tentacle milking on his final phase. Panicked for a sec before he carked it.

Lovely game. Rugged mechanics, tight stages, warmly fevered retro-sci/fantasy vibe. The counter-offensive shot/aura, and its bulldogging close-quarters quasi-melee, are still like nothing else I've played - and the aesthetic is pure crazy ambition from Tsenba-san, YACK and company. Butt-danced violently throughout the end credits, the machinegun bassline and icy-smooth hi-hat on NON FICTION be HAWT. Mwah! I rove u all over again MB, gonna spruce up that guide next week, after repeatedly thinking "what'd I write to do here?" and "should probably give these pink fuckers their own paragraph"

[Ms. Tea]

That cat is Menme Sakou, she was Taito designer Hiroyuki Sakou's pet. Also shows up in the credits to Warrior Blade. https://twitter.com/ohfivepro/status/14 ... 8997074946

[BIL]

Ah, nice! I was wondering if she might've made the "cast" section of the credits - my money was on "John Neianik 6th" though.

[SavagePencil]

Wait, what's different about the timeout from the "official" death, besides the re-apperance of the cat? I just confirmed that when you kill the boss, you still get the amazing sequence of psychedelic effects (with the Earth splitting in half, which somehow I missed the first few times playing through...), but it rolls credits right after.

[StrzxgvNuvWvfld]

So what's the actual default number then? That's kinda my point. I can't find numbers for any of this shit, except to say that the ACA Hamster stuff is definitely not Shitty Connection levels of lag, so it's going to be less than 6. Basically no game, even on PCB runs at 1 frame of lag. So we're saying 2-3 frames of lag is the PCB, and then maybe 5 frames could be Hamster ACA? But these are all just guesses. It's quite likely there are Hamster games with 4 frames of lag on Switch, and there may even be a 3 framer on there. We don't know because nobody is testing them. And we will probably never know.

All I responded to was your statement that there was no more than half a frame of lag. If you'd initially estimated 3-4 frames I wouldn't have questionned you. I'm not even sure you can make an emulator with less than a frame of lag because I would assume you always have to create a frame in software before displaying it. It feels conceivable to me that older PCBs could have 1 frame of latency mind you. I've coded on 8 bit machines and it's pretty straightforward to read the input one frame and update the screen on the next.

You're saying (if I'm understanding you) that ACA games feel laggier than on PCB, to you. I'm assuming you've played at least some of these games both on Switch and on PCB.

I live about 20 mins from this place, so play old arcade games regularly (their games list is really out-of-date, but it gives you an idea) https://www.arcadeclub.co.uk/games/

I'm not saying I can feel the difference between the two, but picking up a couple of speed-ups in a game like Gradius, there feels to be a little lag. I'm not saying it's game-breaking though and you're right that it's a feeling (I think I said that previously as well).